
IE LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES 


Horatius 
at the 
Bridge 


I>: A. TLAN AG AN COMPANY 


The Little Classic Series 

The most popular works of standard authors and poets 
arranged for use in schools, with introductions, explanatory 
notes, biographical sketches, portraits, and illustrations. 

Also elementary stories of nature, myth, history, industry, 
geography, biography, and literature. The grading sug- 
gested has been extensively followed by teachers with very 
satisfactory results, but may be varied to suit special 
conditions. 

The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 

Twenty Copies for $1.20 


First and Second Grades 

No. 

2719 Aesop’s Fables, 

2713 Old Time Stories. 

2725 Favorite Mother Goose Rhymes. 

2707 First Steps in Reading. 

2701 Jack and the Beanstalk. 

2726 Favorite Mother Goose Jingles. 

2720 Little Red Riding Hood. 

2727 Story of Little Black Sambo. 

2708 Bunny Cottontail Stories. 

2728 Ten Little Indian Stories* 

2721 Hiawatha and Henry W. Longfel- 

low. 

2730 Twelve Little Indian Stories. 

2716 Bunny Boy. 

2731 The Jenny Wren Book. 

2704 Bob the Cat. 

2723 Whitter and His Sncw-Bound. 

2732 The Bluebird Book. 

2717 Thanksgiving Stories. 

2733 Four Favorite Stories. 

2705 The Story of Two Little Rabbits. 

2724 The Three Misses Cottontail and 

King Rabbit. 

2734 My Shadow* and Other Poems. 

2718 Modern Fables. 

2735 My Treasures* and Other Poems. 

2706 Famous Poems of Famous Poets — 

First and Second Grades. 

2819 Squirrel and Other Animal Stories. 


Second and Third Grades 

No. 

2736 Three Popular Stories. 

2714 The Story of Joseph. 

2807 Beauty and the Beast and Other 
Favorite Fairy Tales. 

2702 Susan Cottontail Stories. 

2802 Cinderella and Other Favorite 

Fairy Tales. 

2715 Robinson Crusoe. 

2738 Stories from Grimm. 

2729 Sixteen Little Indian Stories. 

2809 The Coming of the Christ-Child. 

2709 Our Three Little Sisters and Hia- 

watha. 

2803 Christmas Stories. 

2722 Pussy Willow and other Tree 
Stories. 

2740 The Story of Peter Rabbit. 

2710 Stories About Animals. 

2810 The Little Story Reader. 

2711 Mr. and Mrs. Stout of Beaver DsMn 

and How JackrabbitLost HisT^Sl. 

2823 Stories About Birds. 

2712 The Tale of Bunny Cottontail — 

Abridged. 

2825 Who Stole the Bird’s Nest* and 

Other Poems, 

2824 Famous Poems of Famous Poets — 

For Third Grade. 

2826 The Robin Redbreast Book. 

2812 The Toyland of Santa Claus. 

2827 The Chickadee Book. 

2828 Brownie’s Ride and Brownie and 

the Cook. 

2829 Escape at Bedtime* and Other 

Poems. 

2830 My Ship and I* and Other Poems. 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO 


HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE 


BY 

THOMAS BABINGTON MACAULAY 


EDITED WITH NOTES 
AND TEACHING QUESTIONS BY 

LEWIS WORTHINGTON SMITH 

PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH 
DRAKE UNIVERSITY^ DES MOINES 


A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 







" Vv-'.^V 

©C1AG88891 


Printed in the United States of America 


OCT 19 72 


HORATIUS AT THE BRIDGE 


A Lay Made About the Year of the City CCCLX, 

1 

Lars Porsena of Clusium 
By the Nine Gods he swore 
That the great house of Tarquin 
Should suffer wrong no more. 

Bj^ the Nine Gods he swore it, 

And named a trysting day, 

And bade his messengers ride forth 
East and west and south and north. 

To summon his array. 


2 

East and west and south and north . 

The messengers ride fast. 

And tower and town and cottage 
Have heard the trumpet’s blast. 

Shame on the false Etruscan 
Who lingers in his home. 

When Porsena of Clusium 
Is on the march for Rome. 

1 Lars, a title meaning king or chieftain in the Etruscan. 
Clusium, in eastern middle portion of Etruria, west of Lake 
Trasimenus. 

5 According to the Roman tradition, the great gods of the 
Etruscans were nine in number. 

14 Etruscan, The Etruscans were the inhabitants of Etruria, a 
portion of Italy extending along the coast from near the 
mouth of the Tiber north to a point a little below modern 
Genoa. Now Tuscany. 


Define: trysting, array, house as used in line 3. 

Why should he be called a “false Etruscan” who did not go 
with Lars Porsena? 



3 


3 


The horsemen and the footmen 
Are pouring in amain 
From many a stately market-place; 

From many a fruitful plain ; 

From many a lonely hamlet, 

Which, hid by beech and pine. 
Like an eagle’s nest, hangs on the crest 
Of purple Apennine; 


4 


From lordly Volaterr®, 

Where scowls the far-famed hold 
Piled by the hands of giants 
For godlike kings of old; 

From seagirt Populonia, 

Whose sentinels descry 
Sardinia’s snowy mountain-tops 
Fringing the southern sky; 


5 

From the proud mart of Pisa% 

Queen of the western waves. 

Where ride Massilia’s triremes 
Heavy with fair-haired slaves ; 

26 Volaterrae, a city north and west of Clusium in Etruria. 

34 Pisae, the modern Pisa. 

36 Massilia, now Marseilles, formerly a Greek colony. The slaves 
of her triremes were probably Gauls traded in by Greek 
merchants. 


Define : amain, mart, hamlet, hold, seagirt, descry, triremes. 
Why should the poet call the Apennines purple? 

Why did they think that the hold was “piled by hands of 
giants for god-like kings of old”? 

4 


From where sweet Clanis wanders 
Through corn and vines and flowers; 
From where Cortona lifts to heaven 
Her diadem of towers. 


6 


Tall are the oa'ks whose acorns 
Drop in dark Auser’s rill; 

Fat are the stags that champ the boughs 
Of the Ciminian hill ; 

Beyond all streams Clitumnus 
Is to the herdsman dear; 

Best of all pools the fowler loves 
The great Volsinian mere. 

7 

But now no stroke of woodman 
Is heard by Auser’s rill; 

No hunter tracks the stag’s green path 
Up the Ciminian hill ; 

Unwatched along Clitumnus 
Grazes the milk-white steer; 

Unharmed the waterfowl may dip 
In the Volsinian mere. 

38 Clanis, a river flowing east of Clusium south into the Tiber. 

40 Cortona, a little distance from Clusium, northwest of Lake 
Trasimenus. 

^3 Auser, a stream flowing into the Arno. 

Deflne : diadem, champ, fowler, mere, rill. 

Does , the sixth stanza make the life in Etruria seem a happy 

one or not? Why should the Etruscans think of this as they 

march away to Rome? 

Why does the milk-white steer graze unwatched along 

Clitumnus and the waterfowl dip unharmed in the mere? 

5 


The harvests of Arretium, 

This year, old men shall reap ; 

This year, young boys in Umbro 
Shall plunge the struggling sheep; 
And in the vats of Luna, 

This year, the must shall foam 
Round the white feet of laughing girls 
Whose sires have marched to Rome. 


9 


There be thirty chosen prophets, 

The wisest of the land. 

Who alway by Lars Porsena 
Both morn and evening stand : 
Evening and morn the Thirty 
Have turned the verses o’er, 
Traced from the right on linen white 
By mighty seers of yore. 


58 A-n'etium, north of Cortona, now Arezzo. 

60 Umbro, now the Ombrone, a river flowing into the sea north 
of Rome less than a hundred miles. 

62 Luna, a city in the north of Etruria on the sea. 

64 Round the white feet of laughing girls, who are treading out 
the wine from the grapes. 

66 Prophets. They were rather sorcerers who read signs of tho 
future in the entrails of animals and otherwise. 

72 The Etruscans read from right to left instead of from left 
to right as we do. 


Deflne: must, seers, yore. 

Why shall the old men reap the harvests of Arretium and the 
young men plunge the sheep in Umbro? 

Why does the poet think of the girls as laughing when their 
sires have marched to Rome? 


6 


10 


And with one voice the Thirty 
Have their glad answer given : 

‘^Go forth, go forth, Lars Porsena; 

Go forth, beloved of Heaven : 

Go, and return in glory 
To Clusium’s royal dome; 

And hang round Nurscia’s altars 
The golden shields of Rome/’ 

11 

And now hath every city 

Sent up her tale of men : . ^ 

The foot are fourscore thousand. 

The horse are thousands ten. 

Before the gates of Sutriiim 
Is met the great array.. 

A proud man was Lars Porsena 
Upon the trysting day. 

12 

For all the Etruscan armies 
Were ranged beneath his eye. 

And many a banished Roman, 

And many a stout ally; 

And with a mighty following 
To join the muster came 

80 Nurscia’s altars. This was a Sabine’ city near the Nar. 

86 Sutrium, a town north of Rome on the road from Clusium. 


Define : dome, tale, ranged, banished, ally, muster. 

Why was Lars Porsena a proud man on the trysting day? 

7 


The Tusculan Mamiliu^, 

Prince of the Latian name. 

13 , 

But by the yellow Tiber- 
Was tumult and affright; 

From all the spacious champaign 
To, Rome men took their flight. 

A mile around the city, 

The throng stopped up the ways ; 

A fearful sight it was to see 

Through two long nights and days. 



100 


14 

For aged folks on crutches, 

And women great with child, • , 

And mothers sobbing over babes 
That clung to them and smiled, 

And sick men borne in litters - 

High on the necks of slaves. 

And troops of sunburnt husbandmen 
With reaping-hooks and staves. 

15 

And droves of mules and asses 
Laden with skins of wdne, 

96 Tusculan, a resident of Tusculum, a city of Latium, that part 
of Italy in which Rome was situated. 

Define : affright, tumult, throng, champaign, spacious, litters, 
reaping-hooks, staves, skins of wine, kine. 

Why does the poet tell of the smiling babes at the same time 
that he tells of the sobbing mothers? 

W^here has the poet changed point of view in telling the story? 
Whom are we interested in now? 

8 


And endless flocks of goats and sheep, 

And endless herds of kine, 

And endless trains of wagons 
That creaked beneath the weight. 

Of corn-sacks and of household goods, 120 

Choked every roaring gate. 


16 

Now, from the rock Tarpeian, 

Could the wan burghers spy 
The line of blazing villages 
' Red in the midnight sky. 

The Fathers of the City, 

They sat all night and day, 

For every hour some horseman came 
With tidings of dismay. 


17 


To eastward and to westward 120 

Have spread the Tuscan bands; 

Nor house nor fence nor dovecote 
In Crustumerium stands. , 

Yerbenna down to Ostia 
Hath wasted all the plain ; 

122 Tarpeian. The Tarpeian Rock was a cliff on one of the hills 
of Rome, famous in an old story of the betrayal of the city. 
126 Fathers of the City. The Senators of Rome. 

133 Crustumerium, a city between fifteen and twenty miles above 

Rome near the Tiber. 

134 Ostia, was the port of Rome at the mouth of the Tiber. 

What are burghers? Is th^ term Roman or more modern? 
Why was every gate a “roaring gate”? 

Why does the poet speak of house and fence and dovecote in 
that order? 


9 


Astur hath stormed Janiculum, 

And the stout guards are slain. 

18 

Iwis, in all the Senate, 

There was no heart so bold, 

But sore it ached, and fast it beat. 
When that ill news was told. 

Forthwith up rose the Consul, 

Up rose the Fathers all; 

In haste 'they girded up their gowns. 
And hied them to the wall. 

19 

They held a council standing 
Before the River-Gate ; 

Short time was there, ye well may guess. 
For musing or debate. 

Out spake the Consul roundly : 

^‘The bridge must straight go down; 

For, since Janiculum is lost. 

Naught else can save the town.” 


. 20 

Just then a scout came flying. 

All wild with haste and fear; 

136 Janiculum, The hill Janiculus across the river from the main 
part of the city. Important as overlooking Rome. 

138 Iwis. Has the sense of certainly, surely. 


Define : girded, hied, council. Consul, stormed, roundly. 

Why do the Fathers hold a council before the River-Gate? 
What does the scout's way of announciniT the coming of Lars 
Porsena show of the Roman feeling for him? 

Does the scout’s message make the Consul excited or thought- 
ful? How is that or is it not like a Roman? 

10 




“To arms! to arms! Sir Consul: 

Lars Porsena is here. 

On the low hills to westward 
.The Consul fixed his eye, 

And saw the swarthy storm of dust 
Rise fast along the sky. 

21 

And nearer fast and nearer 
Doth the red whirlwind come; 

And louder still and still more loud, 

From underneath that rolling cloud. 

Is heard the trumpet’s war-note proud. 

The trampling, and the hum. 

And plainly and more plainly 
Now through the gloom 'appears. 

Far to left and far to right, 

In broken gleams of dark-blue light, 

The long array of helmets bright. 

The long array of spears. • 

22 

And plainly, and more plainly 
Above that glimmering line. 

Now might ye see the banners 
Of twelve fair cities shine; 

177 Twelve fair cities. The Etruscans developed a civil life and 
arts somewhat in advance of the Romans, and they formed 
a league of twelve 'cities with a spirit of organization such 
as their future conquerors had not yet. 


Define : swarthy, glimmering, proud. 

"Why does the poet call the coming army a red whirlwind? 

11 


But the banner of proud Clusium 
Was highest of them all, 

The terror of the Umbrian, 

The terror of the Gaul. 

23 

And plainly and more plainly 
Now might the burghers know, 

By port and vest, by horse and crest. 

Each warlike Lucumo. 

There Cinlius of Arretium 
On his fleet roan was seen ; 

And Astur of the fourfold shield. 

Girt with the brand none else may wield, 

Tolumnius with the belt of gold, 

And dark Verbenna from the hold 
By reedy Thrasymene. 

' ^ 24 

Fast by the royal standard. 

Overlooking all the war, 

Lars Porsena of Clusium 
Sat in his ivory car. 

By the right wheel rode Mamilius, 

Prince of the Latian name; 

184 Port and vest. Manner of carrying himself and dress 

(vesture). 

185 Lucumo. A Roman term for the Etruscan chiefs. 

197 Mamilius. Clavius Mamilius of Tusculum was of the exiled 
family, having married a daughter of Tarquinius. 

Why was the banner of Clusium the terror of the Umbrian and 
the Gaul? 

Give the meaning as used here of crest, roan, brand, wield, 
standard, car. 


12 


And by the left false Sextus, ' . 

That wrought the deed of shame. 200 

25 

But when the face of Sextus 
Was seen among the foes, 

A yell that rent the firmament 
From all the town arose. 

On the house-tops was no woman 
But spat towards him and hissed, 

No child but screamed out curses. 

And shook its little fist. 

26 

But the Consul’s brow was sad, 

. And the Consul’s speech was low, 210 

And darkly looked he at the wall. 

And darkly at the foe. 

“Their van will be upon us 
Before the bridge goes down; 

And if they once may win the bridge. 

What hope to save the town?” 

27 

Then out spake brave Horatius, 

The Captain of the Gate ; 

199 Sextus. He was a son of Tarquinius, and the expulsion of 
the Tarquins was largely due to his wrongdoing. 

Define: firmament, spat, curses, van. 

How does it happen that even the children scream out curses? 

Why is the Consul’s feeling different from that of the people? 

What is he thinking of? 


13 


“To every man upon this earth 

Death cometh soon or late ‘ 

And how can man die better 
Than facing fearful odds, 

For the ashes of his fathers, 

And the temples of his gods. 

/ 28 

“And for the tender mother 
Who dandled him to rest. 

And for the wife who nurses 
- His baby at her breast, 

And for the holy maidens 

Who feed the eternal flame, 230 

To save them from false Sextus 
That wrought the deed of shame? 

29 

“Hew down the bridge. Sir Consul, 

With all the speed ye may; 

I, with two more to help me. 

Will hold the foe in play. 

In yon strait path a thousand 
May well be stopped by three. 

Now who will stand on either hand, 

And keep the bridge with me?” 240 

229 The holy maidens were the vestal virgins, whose dutj' it was 
to keep a flame burning on the altar of the goddess Vesta. 

What is there flne about the first part of the speech of 
Horatius? 

What is the meaning as used here of wrought, play, strait, 
either? 

Are the others who will help Horatius prompt or not? 

14 


80 

Then out spake Spurius Lartius; 

A Ramnian proud was he : 

“Lo, I Avill stand at thy right hand, 

And keep the bridge with thee.” 

And out spake strong Herminius; 

Of Titian blood was he : 

“I will abide on thy left side, 

And keep the bridge with thee.” 

31 

“Horatius,” quoth the Consul, 

‘‘As thou sayest, so let it.be.” 250 

And straight against that great array 
Forth went the dauntless Three. 

For Romans in Rome’s quarrel 
Spared neither land nor gold, 

Nor son nor wife, nor limb nor life. 

In the brave days of old. 

32 

Then none was for a party; 

Then all were for the state ; 

Then the great man helped the poor. 

And the poor man loved the great; ■ 260 

Then lands w^ere fairly portioned; 

Then spoils were fairly sold; 

242 Ramnian. The Roman patrician or noble class comprised 
three tribes, of which the Ramnes or Romans were the first. 
Later the union with the Sabines added another, the Tities. 
See line 246, The conquest of Alba added the, fourth, the 
Luceres. ‘ 


Define : abide, dauntless, portioned, spoils. 

Do they who will help Horatius seem determined or doubtful? 
Do they seem men of words or of deeds? 

15 


The Romans were like brothers 
In the brave days of old. 


33 


Now Roman is to Roman 
More hateful than a foe, 

And the Tribunes beard the high, 

And the Fathers grind the low. 

As we wax hot in faction. 

In battle we wax cold : 

Wherefore men fight not as they fought 
In the brave days of old. 


34 ‘ 

Now while the Three w;ere tightening 
Their harness on their backs. 

The Consul was the foremost man 
To take in hand an axe: 

And Fathers mixed with Commons 
Seized hatchet, bar, and crow% 

And smote upon the planks above. 

And loosed the props below. 280 

267 The Tribunes were officers of the common people or plebeians 
whose first office was that of protecting any of the plebeians 
who might appeal to them for protection against the 
authority of the Consul. Later they had also the power of 
vetoing laws that they thought would be injurious to the 
common people. 


Define: foe, beard, faction, harness, smote, props. 

How does the man who is telling the story seem to feel about 
'‘the brave days of old”? Why does he use the phrase so often? 

What is it for the Tribunes to “beard the high,” and for the 
“fathers to grind the low”? 

What is it to “wax hot in faction”? 

Why does the poet speak of Fathers as mixing with Coihmons? 
Was the term Commons one properly to be applied to a Roman 
or an English body of men? 


16 


35 


Meanwhile the Tuscan army, 

Right glorious to behold, 

Came flashing back the noonday light. 

Rank behind rank, like surges bright 
Of a broad sea of gold. 

Four hundred trumpets sounded 
A peal of warlike glee. 

As that great host, with measured tread, 

And spears advanced, and ensigns spread. 

Rolled slowly towards the bridge’s head, 290 

Where stood the dauntless Three. 

36 

The Three stood calm and silent. 

And looked upon the foes. 

And a great shout of laughter, 

From all the vanguard rose; 

And forth three chiefs came spurring 
Before that deep array; 

To earth they sprang, their swords they drew, 

And lifted high their shields, and flew 
To win the narrow way. 

37 

Aunus from green Tifernum, 

Lord of the Hill of Vines; 

301 Tifernum, a city in the northwestern part of Etruria. 

Define: surges, ensign, vanguard, array. 

Does the description of the Tuscan army in the thirty-fifth 
stanza seem that of an orderly modern army or of a wild host? 

Why did a great shout of laughter rise from the vanguard at 
the Three? 


17 


And Seius, whose eight hundred slaves 
Sicken in Ilva’s mines; 

And Picus, long to Clusium 
Vassal in peace and war, 

Who led to fight his Umbrian powers 
From that gray crag where, girt with towers, 
The fortress of Nequinum lowers 
O’er the pale waves of Nar. 

38 

Stout Lartius hurled down Aunus 
Into the stream beneath : 

Herminius struck at Seius, 

And clove him to the teeth : , 

At Picus brave Horatius 
Darted one fiery thrust; 

And the proud Umbrian’s gilded arms 
Clashed in the bloody dust. 


39 


Then Ocnus of Falerii . 

Rushed on the Roman Three; 
And Lausulus of Urgo, 

The rover of the sea; 


304 Ilva, an island off the west coast, the modern Elba. 

310 Njar, a river on the southern border of Umbria flowing into 
the Tiber from the east. Umbria is east of Etruria. 

322 The Etruscans, while they were merchantmen, also sailed the 
sea as pirates. 


Define as used here ; vassal, powers, girt, fortress, lowers, 
clove, crag, fiery, gilded, rover. 

Does the poet make you feel that Seius and Picus are kindly 
or terrible chieftains? Does stanza thirty-seven make you more or 
less anxious for the Romans? 


18 


And Aruns of Volsinium, 

Who slew the great wild boar, 

The great wild boar that had his den 
Amidst the reeds of Cosa’s fen, 

And wasted fields, and slaughtered men, 

Along Albinia’s shore. 

4 ^ 

Herminius smote down Aruns; 

Lartius laid Ocnus low; 330 

Eight to the heart of Lausulus 
Horatius sent a blow. 

‘^Lie there,’’ he cried, ‘^fell pirate! 

No more, aghast and pale. 

From Ostia’s walls the crowd shall mark 
The track of thy destroying bark. 

No more Campania’s hinds shall fiy 
To woods and caverns when they spy 
Thy thrice accursed sail.” 

41 

But now no sound of laughter 34o 

Was heard among the foes. 

A wild and wrathful clamor 
From all the vanguard rose. 

Six spears’ lengths from the entrance 
Halted that deep array. 

Define : fell, pirate, aghast, bark, hinds, cavern, clamor. 

Do the new Etruscans seem more or less terrible than the pre- 
ceding Three? Why? 

In stanza forty is Horatius more or less determined than 
before? Do you see any new feeling that makes him so? 

^ Why now does "a wild and wrathful clamor” rise from the 
vanguard of the foes? 


19 


And for a space no man' came forth 
To win the narrow way. 

42 . 

But hark! the cry is Astur: 

And lo! the ranks divide; • . 

And the great Lord of Luna 
Comes with his stately stride. 
Upon his ample shoulders 

Clangs loud the fourfold shield, 
And in his hand he shakes the brand 
Which none but he can wield. 


43 

He smiled on those bold Romans 
A smile serene and high; 

He eyed the flinching Tuscans, 

And scorn was in his eye. 

Quoth he, ^‘The she-wolf’s litter 360 

Stand savagely at bay: 

But will ye dare to follow. 

If Astur clears the way?” 

44 

Then, whirling up his broadsword 
With both hands to the height, 

360 The she-wolf’s Utter. According to the old story the founders 
of Rome, Romulus and Renus, were nourished by a wolf. 

Define: stride, brand, wield, serene, flinching, deftly. 

Does there appear to be new and greater danger for the 
Romans in the coming of Astur or not? Why? 

Does he in any way seem nobler than the other Etruscans? 

20 


He rushed against Horatius, 

And smote with all his might. 

With shield and blade Horatius 
Right deftly turned the blow. 

The blow, though turned, came yet too nigh; 

It missed his helm, but gashed his thigh: 

The Tuscans raised a joyful cry 
To see the red blood flow. 

45 

He reeled, and on Herminius 
He leaned one breathing-space; 

Then, like a wild-cat mad with 'wounds. 
Sprang right at Astur’s face. 

Through teeth, and skull, and helmet. 

So flerce a thrust he sped, 

The good sword stood a handbreadth out 
Behind the Tuscan’s head. 


46 


And the great Lord of Luna 
Fell at that deadly stroke. 

As falls on Mount Alvernus 
A thunder-smitten oak. 

Far o’er the crashing forest 
The giant arms lie spread; 

388 Augwrs, priests whose office it was to foretell events from 
signs of various sorts. 


in 


Define: helm, thrust, reeled, helmet. 

Does Horatius meet Astur in a way at all different from that 
which he met the others? n- 

Are the augurs pale for the falling of the oak or for the falling 


of Astur? . X ^ 1 o 

Why does the poet compare Astur to an oak? 


21 


And the pale augurs, muttering low, 

Gaze on the blasted head. 

47 

On Astur’s throat Horatius 
Right firmly pressed his heel. 

And thrice and four times tugged amain. 

Ere he wrenched out the steel. 

*‘And see,’’ he cried, ^‘the welcome, 

Fair guests, that waits you here! 

What noble Lucumo comes next 
To taste our Roman cheer?” 

48 

But at his haughty challenge 
A sullen murmur ran. 

Mingled of wrath and shame and dread, 

Along that glittering van. 

There lacked not men of prowess, 

Nor men of lordly race; 

For all Etruria’s noblest 
Were round the fatal place. 

49 

But all 'Etruria’s noblest 
Felt their hearts sink to see 
On the earth the bloody corpses. 

In the path the dauntless Three; 

And, from the ghastly entrance 4io 

Where those bold Roman stood. 

Define ; tugged, haughty, challenge, dread, prowess, noblest, 
fatal, corpses, dauntless, ghastly. 

How confident does Horatius feel in the forty -seventh stanza? 

Why does the poet speak of the van as glittering? 

22 


All shrank, like boys who unaware, 

Ranging the woods to start a hare, 

Come to the mouth of the dark lair 
Where, growling low, a fierce old bear 
Lies amidst bones and blood. 

50 

Was none who would be foremost 
To lead such dire attack : 

But those behind cried ‘‘Forward!” 

And those before cried “Back!” , 

And backward now and forward ' 

Wavers the deep array; 

And on the tossing sea of steel. 

To and fro the standards reel ; 

And the victorious trumpet-peal 
Dies fitfully away. 

51 

Yet one man for one moment ' 

Stood out before the crowd ; 

Well known was he to all the Three, 

And they gave him greeting loud, ' 

“Now welcome, welcome, Sextus! 

Now welcome to thy home ! 

Why dost thou stay, and turn away? 

Here lies the road to Rome.” 

Define: unaware, hare, lair, dire, reel, trumpet-peal. 

How does the fiftieth stanza show that the soldiers of the 
Etruscan army fought under orders from the commander or by its 
own impulses? Why does the poet now speak of the Etruscan army 
as a sea of steel when he spoke of it in stanza thirty-five as a 
sea of gold? 

Why do the Three shout out with so loud a greeting to Sextus? 

23 


52 

Thrice looked he at the city; 

Thrice looked he at the dead; 

And thrice came on in fury, 

And thrice turned back in dread; 
And, white with fear and hatred, 
Scowled at the narrow way 
Where, wallowing in a pool of blood. 
The bravest Tuscans lay. 

53 

But meanwhile axe and lever 
Have manfully been plied; 

And now the bridge hangs tottering 
Above the boiling tide. 

“Come back, come back, Horatius!’^ 
Loud cried the Fathers all. 

“Back, Lartius! back, Herminius! 
Back, ere the ruin fall!’^ 


54 

Back darted Spurius Lartius; 

Herminius darted back; 

And, as they passed, beneath their feet 
They felt the timbers crack. 

But when they turned their faces. 

And on the farther shore 


Define: fury, hatred, scowled, wallowing, lever, plied, tottering, 
tide, boiling, ruin. 

Is there any change to be noticed in the relative fears of the 
Romans and the Etruscans since word first reached Rome that the 
host of Lars Porsena was coming? 

Does the taunting of the Roman Three seem mean or not? 
Why so? 

Is the use of the word tide in line 446 strictly accurate or not? 
24 


SaAv brave Horatius stand alone, 

They would have crossed once more. 


55 


But with a crash like thunder 
Fell every loosened beam, 

And, like a dam, the mighty wreck 
Lay right athwart the stream; 
And a long shout of triumph 
Kose from the walls of Rbme, 

As to the highest turret-tops 
Was splashed the yellow foam. 




56 


And, like a horse unbroken 
When first he feels the rein, 


The furious river struggled hard. 
And tossed his tawny mane. 

And burst the curb, and bounded, 
^Rejoicing to be free. 

And whirling down, in fierce career 
Battlement, and plank, and pier. 
Rushed headlong to the sea» 


Define : athwart, triumph, turret-tops, splashed, struggled, 
tawny, curb, career, pier. » 

What does the furious river .struggle against in line 469? 

The river is here personified, spoken of as if it were living. 
Can you see why the poet does that or why the people might think 
of it so? 

What is the curb that the river bursts, and why should it seem 
to rejoice in being free? 


25 


57 


Alone stood brave Horatius, 

But constant still in mind; 

Thrice thirty thousand foes before, 
And the broad flood behind. 

‘ ' Down with him ! ’ ’ cried false Sextus, 
With a smile on his pale face. 

^‘Now yield thee,” cried Lars Porsena, 
“Now yield thee to our grace.” 


58 

Round turned he, as not deigning 
Those craven ranks to see; 
Naught spake he to Lars Porsena, 
To Sextus naught spake he; 

But he saw on Palatinus 

The white porch of his home ; 

And he spake to the noble river 
That rolls by the towers of Rome. 


59 

“0 Tiber! father Tiber! 

To whom the Romans pray, 

488 Palatinus, now the Palatine hill. 


Define as used here: yield, grace, craven, deigning, naught. 

Why does Horatius remain after the bridge begins to falD 

How does the poet think of Horatius as being “constant still 
in mind”? 

Why is Sextus anxious to have him killed now? 

How does it happen that Lars Porsena has a different spirit'' 

How has the poet made us feel toward Lars Porsena from the 
beginning of the story? 

How do stanzas fifty-eight and fifty-nine make you feel about 
the motive that Horatius has had for defending the bridge? Has 
it been love of battle or love of Rome? 

26 




A Roman’s life, a Roman’s arms 

Take thou in charge this ^ 

So he spake, and speaking sheathed 

The good sword by his side, -f;-- ^ 

And with his harness on his back ^ 




v'-' ' ■ 


Plunged headlong in the tide. 


60 

No sound of joy or sorrow soo 

Was heard from either bank; 

But friends and foes in dumb surprise. 

With parted lips and straining eyes. 

Stood gazing where he sank; 

And when above the surges 
They saw his crest appear. 

All Rome sent forth a rapturous cry. 

And even the ranks of Tuscany 
Could scarce forbear to cheer. 


61 

But fiercely ran the current, ' 5io 

Swollen high by months of rain: ,v, 

And fast his blood was flowing. 

And he was sore in pain, 

And heavy with his armor. 

And spent with changing blows : 

And oft they thought him sinking. 

But still again he rose. 

Define : crest, rapturous, sore, spent. 

Do you think that either Porsena or Sextus was among those 
vho cheered? Why? 

How would the story have lost in interest, if Horatius had 
gone back safely across the bridge with the other two? 

27 


62 

N’ever, I ween, did swimmer, 

In such an evil case, 

Struggle through such a raging flood 
Safe to the landing-place : 

But his limbs were borne up bravely 
By the brave heart within, 

And our good father Tiber 
Bore bravely up his chin. 

63 

^ Curse on him!” quoth false Sextus; 
^‘Will not the villain drown? 

But for this stay, ere close of day 
We should have sacked the town!” 

‘^Heaven help him!” quoth Lars Porsena, 
^*And bring him safe to shore; 

For such a gallant feat of arms 
Was never seen before.” 


64 

A.nd now he feels the bottom; 

Now on dry earth he stands; 

Now round him throng the Fathers 
To press his gory hands; 

And now, with shouts and clapping. 

And noise of weeping loud, 

Define : ween, sacked, gory. 

How does the difference in feeling between Sextus and Porsena 
help our appreciation of Horatius or not? 

Why do you think there was weeping after he had saved the 
bridge and had swum safely back? 

Where does the real story stop? Why does the author plunge 
so abruptly into the account of the consequences without telling 
about the outcome of the attack on Rome? 

28 


He enters through the Kiver-Gate, 

Borne by the joyous crowd. 

65 

They gave him of the corn-land, 

That was of public right, 

As much as two strong oxen 

Could plough from morn till night; 

And they made a molten image, 

And set it up on high, 

And there it stands unto this day 
To witness if I lie. 

66 

It stands in the Comitium, 550 

Plain for all folk to see; 

Horatius in his harness, 

Halting upon one knee : 

And underneath is written. 

In letters all of gold, 

How valiantly he kept the bridge 
In the brave days of old. 


67 

And still his name sounds stirring 
Unto the men of Rome, 

542 The corn land. There were many dissensions in the course of 
Roman history over the occupation of the public lands which 
were not distributed to private owners. The patricians 
claimed this right alone, and the plebeians secured a share 
in the land with difficulty. 

550 Comitium, the assembling place of the people in the forum. It 
contained the tribunal and the rostra from which latter 
the people were addressed. 


Do you think that Porsena and the Etruscans succeeded in 
getting into the city or not? 


29 


As the trumpet-blast that cries to them 
To charge the Volscian home; 

And wives still pray to Juno 
For boys with hearts as bold 
As his who kept the bridge so well 
In the brave days of old. 

68 

And in the nights of winter, 

When the cold north-winds blow, 
And the long howling of the wolves 
Is heard amidst the snow; 

When round the lonely cottage 
Koars loud the tempest’s din, 

And the good logs of Algidus 
Roar louder yet within; 


69 

When the oldest cask is opened. 

And the largest lamp is lit; 

When the chestnuts glow in the embers. 

And the kid turns on the spit; 

When young and old in circle 
Around^ the firebrands close ; 

When the girls are weaving baskets, 580 

And the lads are shaping bows; 

561 Volscians. They were a people living- directly south of Latium. 
572 Algidus, a mountain near Rome. 


Define : amidst, din, glow, kid, spit. 

Do these last stanzas bring up a picture of an early or a late 
civilization? 

What in this life appeals to the man who tells the story? Why 
is he fond of “the brave days of old”? 

How is Horatius a typical Roman of the old days or not? 

. 30 


70 


When the goodman mends his armor, 
And trims his helmet ’s plume ; 
When the goodwife’s shuttle merrily 
Goes flashing through the loom, — 
With weeping and with laughter 
Still is the story told, 

How well Horatius kept the bridge 
In the brave days of old. 


31 


HORATIUS 


There can be little doubt that among those parts of early 
Roman history which had a poetical origin was the legend of 
Horatius Codes. We have several versions of the story, and 
these versions dilfer from each other in points of no small 
importance. Polybius, there is reason to believe, heard the 
tale recited over the remains of some consul or praetor 
descended from the old Horatian patricians ; for he introduces 
it as a specimen of the narratives with which the Romans were 
in the habit of embellishing their funeral oratory. It is 
remarkable that, according to him, Horatius defended the 
bridge alone, and perished in the waters. According to the 
chronicles w^hich Livy and Dionysius followed, Horatius had 
two companions, swam safe to shore, and was loaded with 
honors and rewards. 

It is by no means unlikely that there were two old Roman 
lays about the defence of the bridge ; and that, while the story 
which Livy has transmitted to us was preferred by the multi- 
tude, the other, which ascribed the whole glory to Horatius 
alone, may have been the favorite with the Horatian house. 

The following ballad is supposed to have been made about 
a hundred and tw^enty years after the war which it celebrates, 
and just before the taking of Rome by the Gauls. The author 
seems to have been an honest citizen, proud of the military 
glory of his country, sick of the disputes of factions, and much 
given to pining after good old times which had never really 
existed. The allusion, however, to the partial manner in 
which the public lands were allotted could proceed only from 
a plebeian; and the allusion to the fraudulent scale of spoils 
marks the date of the poem, and shows that the poet shared 
in the general discontent with which the proceedings of Ca- 
millus, after the taking of Veii, were regarded. 


The Little Classic Series 

The most popular works of standard authors and poets 
arranged for use in schools, with introductions, explanatory 
notes, biographical sketches, portraits, and illustrations. 

Also elementary stories of nature, myth, history, industry, 
geography, biography, and literature. The grading sug- 
gested has been extensively followed by teachers with very 
satisfactory results, but may be varied to suit special 
conditions. 

The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty -two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 

Twenty Copies for $1.20 


Third and Fourth Grades 

No. 

2831 Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard — 

Part I. 

2832 Aunt Martha’s Corner Cupboard — 

Part II. 

2833 Aunt Martha’s Corner Copboard — 

Part III. 

2808 How Little Cedric Became a 
Knight* 

2835 The Little Brown Pitcher. 

2737 The Golden Bird and Seven Ravens* 

2836 The Little Brown Man. 

2821 Longfellow and Hiawatha. 

2837 The Queer Little Tailor. 

2815 Stories of Old New England. 

2839 Drakestail and Choosing a King. 
2739 Daffydowndilly and the Golden 

Touch* 

2903 A Christmas Carol* 

2822 Stories of Sir Launcelot and Other 

King Arthur Stories. 

2840 Story of Leather^ Boots and Shoes. 

2816 The Story of a Beehive. 

2922 Miss Alcott’s Girls. 

2741 Two Brownie Parties. 

2841 The Story of King Corn. 

2817 Stories of ’76. 

2925 The Story of Coal. 

2805 Some of Our Birds. 

2926 The Story of Wheat. 

2818 Arthur, The Hero King, 

2927 The Story of King Cotton. 

2806 King Arthur Storiea. 


Fourth and Fifth Grades 

No. 

2928 The Story of Sugar. 

2919 The Story of Daniel Boone* 

2929 The Story of Lumber. 

2913 American Naval Heroes. 

2930 The Story of Iron. 

2834 Little Goody Two Shoes. 

2931 Night Before Christmas and Other 

Christmas Poems. 

2907 Our Pilgrim Forefathers. 

2932 The Story of Granite, Copper and 

Zinc* 

2901 The Story of Abraham Lincoln. 

2933 The Story of Marble and Slate. 

2920 The Story of Washington. 

2934 The Story of Fruit. 

2914 The Story of Benjamin Franklin. 

2935 Norse Heroes. 

2908 A Longfellow Booklet. 

2936 Norse Myths* 

2838 The Bluest of Blue Birds. 

2937 Norse Legends. 

2902 The Norse Seamen and Christo- 

pher Columbus. 

2915 The Story of the Revolution. 

2909 Henry Hudson and Other Explor- 

ers. 

2916 Miss Alcott’s Boys. 

2910 Orioles, Bobolinks and other Birds, 
2923 Famous Poems of Famous Poets — 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades. 

2917 Grace Darling and Florence Night- 

ingale* 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 

CHICAGO 



The Little C 

The most popular works 
arranged for use in schools, 
notes, biographical sketch 
Also elementary stories of 
geography, biography, am 
gested has been extensivel' 
satisfactory results, but n.c,y 
conditions. 


fi 





The books have been carefully edited, are clearly printed on 
good paper, and have extra strong paper cover. Each book 
in the LITTLE CLASSIC SERIES contains thirty-two pages. 


SEVEN CENTS PER COPY 


Twenty Copies for $1.20 


Fifth and Sixth Grades 

No. 

2938 The Story of Gold and Silver. 

2911 The Story of Jeanne (Joan)D*Arc. 

3020 The Story of Our Flag. 

2923 Famous Poems of Famous Poets—* 

For Fourth and Fifth Grades* 

2939 The Story of Oil. 

2905 The Three Golden Applet* 

2940 Longfellow’s Poems. 

2924 The Story of Electricity* 

3002 Rab and His Friends* 

2918 William McKinley. 

3021 The Great Stone Face* 

2912 The Discovery of America* 

2943 The Story of Paper, Pensp Pencils# 

etc. 

3019 The Story of Steam. 

2944 The Story of Printing* 

3013 Father Marquette. 

2945 The Story of Newspapers and 

Books. 

3007 The Miraculous Pitcher. 

3025 The Story of Robinhood* 

3001 The Story of La Salle. 

Sixth and Seventh Grades 

No. 

3026 The Story of Motors. 

3014 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 

For Sixth Grade. 

3016 Rip Van Winkle and Author’s Ac- 
count of Himself. 

3008 The King of The Golden River* 

3027 The Story of Glass. 

2941 The Golden Fleece. 

3028 The Meat-Packing Industry. 

2942 Whittier’s Poems. 

3029 Tennyson’s Poems. 

3015 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 

3030 Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare—* 

Part I- 

3031 Lamb’s Tales from Shakespeare — 

Part II* 


No. 

3009 The Pied Piper of Hamlin and 

Other Poems. 

3011 The Song of Hiawatha — Abridged. 

3003 The Snow-Image. 

3032 Primitive Travel and Transporta- 

tion. 

3022 The Courtship of Miles Standish. 

3033 The Story of Ships and Shipping* 
3024 Famous Poems of Famous Poets — 

For Seventh Grade* 

3034 Ocean Routes and Navigation. 

Seventh and Eighth Grades 

No. 

3035 American Railway Systems. 

3018 The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. 

3010 Evangeline. 

3036 Horatius at the Bridge, and Other 

Poems. 

3012 The Cotter’s Saturday Night and 

Other Poems. 

3037 Lowell’s Poems. 

3004 Thanatopsis and Other Poems. 

3006 The Deserted Village (Goldsmith) 

and Gray’s Elegy. 

3038 Washington’s Farewell Address 

and Other Papers. 

3122 The Vision of Sir Launfal and 
Other Poems. 

3039 Prisoner of Chillon and Other 

Poems. 

3017 Snow-Bound and the Corn Song. 
3115 The Magna Charta. 

3040 Sir Roger De Coverley Papers. 

3041 Carrying the U. S. Mail. 

3108 Speeches by Lincoln. 

3005 Enoch Arden. 

3101 Sohrab and Rustum. 

3042 Navigating the Air — Electric Rail- 

ways. 

3107 Famous Poems of Famous Poets— 
Eighth Grade* 


PUBLISHED BY 

A. FLANAGAN COMPANY 
CHICAGO 


1 




